Scientists at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed a cathode they claim will increase the performance capabilities of lithium-sulfur batteries.
Teams led by professor Jian Liu and professor Zhongshuai Wu have increased the catalytic activity and sulfur loading of lithium-sulfur batteries by using a mesoporous carbon nanoreactor decorated with Fe1-xS electrocatalyst nanoparticles (Fe1-xS-NC) as the cathode.
The nanoreactor showed excellent polysulfide catalytic activity and cyclic stability, according to the study published in Advanced Energy Materials.
The development came as researchers worked on increasing the conversion reaction dynamics of sulfur during cycling to curb the issue of low utilisation rate of sulfur and the serious shuttle effect, which causes low capacity and stability of lithium-sulfur batteries.
In the study, the nanoreactor was featured with low mass density, high porosity, and highly dispersed electrocatalyst, which improved the absorption and catalytic conversion capacity of polysulfides.
The researchers found that there was virtually no decay in capacity of Fe1-xS-NC from an initial value of 1,070mAh g-1 after 200 cycles and under a current density of 0.5 C.
Professor Lui said: “The nanoreactor design strategy provides a new protocol for building high-capacity and long-cycle rechargeable batteries.
“It will also open an avenue for design of safer and high-energy-density Li-metal batteries.”
